Tag: Paul Von Boeckmann

A look at Paul Von Boeckmann’s highly unique Lung and Muscle Culture Course. His big thing was Breathing Gymnastics in relation to muscular development. This certainly makes a lot of sense, the more oxygen you can get to the muscles, the stronger they will be. Also of note is the fact that this is the 12th edition – most strength books rarely make it to a second reprinting.

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Paul Von Boeckmann was a strongman from New York City toward the end of the 19th century. Over time, he developed a unique system of chest expansion methods which allowed him to build “the largest and most powerful lungs in the world” according to his advertisements.

Above, the strap around his chest is the same length in both pictures. He was able to inflate and deflate his chest to an incredible degree: an 11-1/2 inch difference. His lung capacity was listed at an astounding 410 cubic inches.

Many people think “Strength” only comes down to the muscles – it doesn’t. One Oldtime Strongman who understood this concept very well was Paul Von Boeckmann from New Braunfels, Texas whose “Breathing Gymnastics” course focused on building lung power along with great strength and development.

Von Boeckmann was certainly on to something as he won many championships in both wrestling and weightlifting. He could bent-press of 201 pounds, do a “hand and thigh” lift with 1652 pounds and has an immense “challenge” Indian club that no one could shoulder.

If you want to perform amazing strength feats, then having super strong hands is a must… It’s impressive to be able to rip a deck of cards in half, but the great Texas strongman Paul Von Boeckmann took it a step further by ripping this quarter-sized chunk out of a 52-card deck. For obvious reasons, this type of feat is referred to as “card notching.” Von Boeckman could also tear a deck of cards into eighths.